The Heroes
It is the end of the most peaceful time in Meridian History. But it is the calm before the storm, as several adventurers begin their journey to claim their fates. Humble Beginnings Meeting on the roads to Goldenheim, Lord Eleazer, Kama Rati, and Dailon, were ambushed by half-ogre bandits. Joining together to defeat them, the three chose to travel together towards to attend the Golden Ball. Eleazer, of Dwarven Nobility, was invited, and brought the Dragonbard Dailon as a gift to the host. Disguising himself as noble, the assassin Kama Rati convinced Lord Eleazer to allow him entry to the Golden Ball as a guest. During their time in Goldenheim, Lord Eleazer was asked to help procure a small group of people to escort his childhood friend into the South. Although unamused by the cryptic nature of the letter, he obliged, bringing his new travel companions to Beacon and enlisting the aide of the Druid Anabelle Tobbins. They were met by the Captain of the Van Eisen Royal Guard, Capt. Gregor Marx, and informed that they would be escorting the nephew of the King, Ulrich van Eisen to Kingdom Crossing. After thwarting a failed goblin raid, the young prince and his escorts made it to Kingdom Crossing, where they spent a night enjoying the city after a job well done. In the early morning, a scream was heard in the streets. Dailon went to see what had happened and found the dead body of Prince Ulrich in the streets with a scorpion dagger and a note. Taking the note, he waited for help to arrive as the city militia approached. Soon joined by his comrades, the party watched as the militia tried to make order. With deft hands, Kama Rati replaced the scorpion dagger with a stolen goblin dagger, with only Dailon watching. Shortly afterward, Captain Marx met up with the party, and brought them into the Inn. He told the. That the true point of this travel was to arrange a secret meeting with Prince Ulrich and Princess Gabriela Pentos. They were to be married so the North and South would finally be united by blood. Reluctantly, both Dailon and Kama showed the evidence they collected: a scorpion dagger often used by Pentos Nobility and a note that read "as the sun sets on the north, the desert rose shall bloom". Captain Marx asked the party to help find the person responsible for the death of the Prince. Anabelle politely declines, as the rest of the group prepares for the job the next morning. Tracking down possible leads in the industrial district, the group stumbles upon Balthazar's Fine Crafts. Kama and Eleazer speak with the Elf Balthazar, one of the Lord Patrons of Kingdom Cross. The elf seems disturbed by their presence, and asks them to leave. Meanwhile, Dailon has scouted out Jefferson's, a local tavern of ill repute, and questions the barkeep. He reluctantly tells Dailon about a group of shady men who have made camp in the private rooms in the back for the past week. The three adventurers, joined by Captain Marx, attempt to speak to the Black Cloaks. Kama Rati, fluent in Thieve's Cant, tries to bargain with the Cloaks for information. However, an eager Eleazer smashes through the door and the group is forced to fight the Black Cloaks. After killing the Black Cloaks, the group finds a note indicating that these men were involved with the murder or Prince Ulrich. Upon leaving the tavern, the group is confronted by the city militia, who are there to arrest them for public disorder and homicide. Although they convince the militia that the men they killed were unfavorable, they were put to sleep by an Elven Warlock and imprisoned. Upon waking up in a dungeon cell, the trio attempts to break free. Devising a plan with Rupert, a prisoner across the hall, they trick two guards into freeing them. After retrieving their belongings, a magically controlled wight attempts to stop them. They defeat the wight and try to flee, but they are stopped by the captain of the Militia, Edgar McCreedy. Instead of holding them in their cells, he offers them a job as they have found that the Black Cloaks they attacked were involved with the murder of Prince Ulrich. The group agrees, and plans to set out the next day. The next morning, the group is greeted by Talia Swift, a young Scout in the city militia. She leads them to where the large group of goblins that have been raiding travelers seem to be coming from. Upon their approach, the group is ambushed by goblin scouts and Talia is gravely wounded. Leaving her behind, the group enters the Goblin Lair. After dispatching the enemies inside, the group finds another note, implying that "the girl is coming with me" and signed by Balthazar's seal. They collect the injured Talia, and return to the city, where they are granted freedom and some prestige. The Princess and the Shadow After returning to Kingdom Crossing, the heroes look to further investigate Balthazar's Factory. Enlisting Talia to help them, the group storms into Balthazar's Imports and charm the young shop clerk, forcing her to allow them entry into the rear foundry. Utilizing the noise of the factory, Kama and Dailon sneak towards a raised platform, where Balthazar stood with a young woman and a hooded figure. As Dailon got close, the hooded figure took notice of the sneaking intruders, and immediately opened up a glowing green tear seemingly out of nowhere. The young woman is dragged into the tear by Balthazar and the hooded figure disappears in after them, closing the tear in an instant. Out of the shadows behind the forges, a large behemoth of a man called the "Darksmith" approaches the heroes and begins to attack them. Using an enchanted hammer, he calls upon several enchanted armors to fight along his side. With some creative use of magic, Dailon and Rupert destroy the Darksmith using their trademark combination move, "Greasefire". After the fight, the Heroes enter Balthazar's private office, and find more incriminating evidence that needs to be shown to the City Militia. The Heroes of the Crossing Category:Lord Eleazer of Shadowpeak Category:Kama Rati Category:Dailon, the Dragonbard Category:Rupert